Two years ago I bought a pre-made woodpecker suet feeder. While I liked it (and the woodpeckers loved it), I quickly realized that (1) it’s easily made as a DIY project, and (2) the suet plugs were almost impossible to use. So here’s my advice on how the frugal gardener can make an excellent woodpecker suet feeder.
Step 1 – Find a thick branch (about 4″ in diameter and 18″ long) or other piece of hard wood (preferably already dead – green wood doesn’t work well). Do not use wood that’s been treated with a preservative or any other chemicals.
Step 2 – Using a 1.5″ hole saw, drill 6 holes through the wood. Either have a helper hold the wood as you drill, or place it in a vice. Drill the first hole a couple of inches from the top of the branch. Turn the branch 1/4 turn and drill a second hole about 1″ below the first. Continue in this way until you have 6 holes. Make sure the bottom hole is at least 6″ above the bottom of the branch. Woodpeckers use their tails to prop themselves upright as they feed so there needs to be enough space for that.
Step 3 – Screw a hook into the top of the branch. This will be used to hang the feeder so use a hook size that will fit over whatever you’ll be hanging the feeder from. Make sure the screw is at least 1.5″ long – you want it to be strong enough not to strip out of the feeder.
Supplies needed to fill a woodpecker suet feeder
Step 4 – Now you’re ready to fill the feeder with suet. You’ll need the following:
- Enough aluminum foil to wrap securely around the entire branch
- 2 squares of store-bought suet (if you’re really ambitious, you can make your own suet but it’s quite a bit of work and ready-made suet is inexpensive) – you’ll need about 1 1/2 blocks to fill the feeder. I use suet with seeds and nuts in it, but any suet will do
- A large plastic or glass container that is microwavable – I use an old plastic container (it once held mango sorbet) that I use only for this purpose
Watch carefully as you heat the suet
Step 5 – The suet is too hard to squeeze into the holes in the feeder so you’ll need to soften it a bit. I do this by removing it from the packaging, cutting it up, and placing it in a plastic container. I then microwave it on high for about 1 minute. Each microwave is different so watch it closely as it heats. You want it to soften but not melt. If it does melt into liquid suet, don’t worry – you can still use it. Simply let it cool down until it’s the consistency of soft butter.
Wrap the foil tightly to prevent leaks
Step 6 - Wrap the branch tightly with aluminum foil. Be sure to wrap it tightly, especially where the two ends of the foil meet. If you don’t wrap it tightly enough, the suet may leak. This is more of an aesthetic problem than anything else – it doesn’t look very nice to have white suet smeared all over the feeder. Using a sharp knife, cut out the holes on one side of the feeder. This will allow you to insert the suet without it coming out the other side.
Filling the feeder is easy but messy
Step 7 – Carefully spoon the softened suet into the holes in the feeder. Make sure to press it down so that it fills the entire hole. Let it harden for about 1 hour before removing the foil.
And there you have it – a suet-filled woodpecker feeder!
Before the snow arrived...
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... and after the snow storm.
Last week I was excited to find the first snow crocus had burst into bloom. It was earlier than ever before and it brought a smile to my face. But, at the same time, I was a little nervous – last year, the first crocus brought with it a major snow storm and the weather forecast was predicting the same this year. So you can imagine my lack of a smile the next day when I went outside to find everything, including the poor crocus, buried by 10″ of heavy snow. The yard was almost unrecognizable and the crocus was nowhere to be found. I think Mother Nature was playing a cruel joke on us….
Did anyone else get hit with the storm? By all accounts, we were lucky down here in southern CT and managed to avoid the worst of it.
A "garden" of red sticks in Boston
The other week, after attending the New England Grows show, I spent the rest of the weekend in Boston. Walking down Boylston Street, I came across this unique take on winter gardening – a “stick garden” outside the Old South Church. It was quite striking altough I imagine it would be even more attention-grabbing with a layer of snow on the ground.
The art installation was called “Red Osier Drift” and was constructed of spruce poles, solid casein stain, and salt marsh hay. According to the sign planted in front of it, “This stick garden is a sculptural abstraction of a drift of Red Osier Dogwood, a native shrub found across the eastern United States. … The sticks were stained and installed by a team of Old South Church members as a labor of love and gift to the city.”
It just goes to show that “gardening” comes in many forms!
Just before noon, I headed out into the garden to see what might be emerging now that the snow is finally receding. I wasn’t expecting to see much besides the ever-present weeds (why does everything else die to the ground over the winter but the weeds manage to stay green and vigorous under the snow??). I noticed a few crocus leaves here and there, lots of grape hyacinths poking above the soil, and some of the early daffodils reaching toward the sun. Mostly, I saw dead leaves that need to be raked out of the flower beds, branches littering the ground (mostly from the red maples – beautiful in fall but horrible trees for a garden as they drop branches continuously and their roots strangle everything you plant), and ornamental grasses that need to be cut back. And then I saw something glistening by my feet – something white that definitely wasn’t snow. It was a crocus in full bloom!! Last year the first snow crocus (a yellow one) bloomed on March 1st. This is the earliest a crocus has bloomed here in my Zone 6 garden. It made my day! Can you see it in the photo on the left?
Yesterday I spent the day at the 29th Annual Connecticut Flower and Garden Show at the Hartford Convention Center. All in all, it wasn’t that much different from last year’s show but I still enjoyed it. It’s on until tomorrow, Sunday, February 21st and is open from 10am until 8pm. If you go, here are a few booths to check out.
Nantucket Bagg - These versatile bags can be hung on a wall or zipped into a bag with the pockets on the inside or outside. They have a drawstring, shoulder strap, and convertible backpack straps, making them easy to carry. Available in a range of fun colors (I bought a bright green one with hot pink contrasting straps – so fun!), they hold just about anything and can go just about anywhere. Truly unique, well-constructed, and perfect for so many occasions.
D&T Worm Farm – Dean and Theresa sell worm castings, also called vermicast or, in the case of D&T Worm Farm, Wormilizer. Sold in 2lb and 5lb containers (contact them directly for larger quantities), Wormilizer can improve the quality of your soil by adding necessary nutrients, improving soil structure, and adding beneficial microorganisms. Plants grown in soil supplemented with worm castings have been shown to germinate faster, exhibit enhanced productivity and be more resistant to pests when compared to plants grown with conventional fertilizers
Peony’s Envy – Located in Bernardsville, NJ, Peony’s Envy grows and sells both herbaceous and tree peonies. With unusual and descriptive names like Spirited Black Dragon and Red Flower in Snowfield, these gorgeous plants are sold bare root for planting from fall until early April. Drop by the booth for advice about growing peonies and to take a look at the many beautiful flowers for sale.
Connecticut Gardener Magazine - Despite recent reports to the contrary, Connecticut Gardener magazine is alive and well. Founded by Pamela Weil in 1995, the magazine was purchased by Anne and Will Rowlands of Fairfield in February 2010 – the Rowlands will continue to publish the magazine on a quarterly basis. The beauty of this magazine is that it focuses only on issues of interest to gardeners in Connecticut. If you garden here, this magazine is for you.
Landscape #11 from Perennial Harmony / Landscape #8 from Pride’s Corner – These two landscape exhibits are interesting because they’re different – #11 includes a vertical living wall while #8 has an example of a green roof. Both concepts are growing in popularity so it’s good to see them on display. The living wall here is built with wooden lattice and full of common garden herbs, like thyme, salad burnet, spearmint, and lavender. The green roof incorporates a range of sedums, including the popular ‘Angelina’.
Green roof with sedums
Lilacs are beautiful, scented spring-blooming shrubs. You see them everywhere – in the spring. After that gorgeous flush of blooms, the plants seem to disappear into the landscape. Sure, they can make a nice-enough green backdrop for other plants – if you keep them well-pruned so that they don’t get leggy. But there’s really not much else to recommend them after the blossoms fade. Until now…
Bloomerang® Purple Syringa x reblooming lilac - photo by permission of Proven Winners
This spring you’ll see the much-talked-about ‘Bloomerang’ reblooming lilac in garden centers for the first time. Unlike traditional lilacs, Bloomerang blooms in spring and then again from mid-summer ’til frost. It may go through a rest period in the heat of the summer but it will resume flowering as the weather cools.
I saw it for the first time at New England Grows in early February (yes, it was blooming) and, even though it had been forced and so was a little more floppy than it would be in the garden, it was quite a pretty little shrub. It’s more compact than traditional lilacs, growing from 4′ to 5′ tall and 5′ to 6′ wide (although a grower from Ontario whom I spoke with told me that it topped out in his zone 4 nursery at about 3′). The leaves are smaller than on larger varieties so it fits nicely into the mixed border. It also makes a good foundation plant that won’t block your views as it matures.
Bloomerang is cold hardy to -40F. It should be deadheaded after blossoms die to encourage repeat flowering and can be pruned lightly after the first flush of blooms fade. It has good powdery mildew resistance and is also resistant to the root rots that can be problematic for lilacs. Combine all of this with the lovely fragrance of the flowers, and Bloomerang is a must-have for any gardener looking for continuous color in the garden.
Rhododrendon 'Cunningham White' flower buds are swelling - should bloom in early May
Hard to believe that another Garden Bloggers Bloom Day has arrived (thanks May Dreams Gardens!). Today was a difficult day to explore the garden – most of it is covered with about 6 inches of snow. Still, I trekked through the snow, brushed aside drifts from the emerging crocuses, and inspected early spring blooming shrubs. No luck – not a bloom in sight. Then I turned to the houseplants where so many fellow gardeners manage to find something in bloom during the winter. But no luck there either – might have something to do with my nickname as the Great Houseplant Killer. So, instead of showcasing living blossoms, I decided to share a few pictures of flowers that have either passed their prime or are yet to emerge. It’s surprising just how beautiful the winter garden can be!
Astilbe creates a beautiful contrast with the pristine white snow.
- reduces temperature fluctuations on the exterior surfaces and, therefore, inside the building
- protects the facade from the elements (which means less maintenance on the building)
- lowers energy consumption (a living wall can reduce electricity usage by up to 20%)
- improves aethetics (which is good for marketing the building to tenants and customers – not to mention the fact that it also serves as a graffiti deterrent!)
- improves air quality and health (through phytoremediation and biofiltration)
- improves acoustics (mostly by absorbing sound and decreasing noise level within and around the building)
- increases property value (studies have shown increased property values of up to 20%)
- contributes to sustainability
- gives the building credits toward LEED certification (for environmentally-responsible/green buildings)
With all of these benefits, it would seem that everyone should be growing a green wall. However, there are a few things to keep in mind, including the fact that each square foot of a living wall (grown on the side of the building) can weigh between 25 and 40 lbs when fully saturated. This means that the wall must be able to support the load – existing walls may need to be reinforced. Furthermore, living walls must be waterproofed to protect the structure behind it, must have some sort of irrigation system on a very precise timer, and can be quite costly to install. Still, the beauty of a living wall, as well as the environmental benefits, make it something that we’re bound to see more of in the near future.
The other day I attended a lecture by Bill Cullina on perennials. Among the many interesting facts that he presented, this one really got me thinking – jewelweed (Impatiens capensis) is able to sense whether its neighboring plants are fellow jewelweeds or something different, and it alters its growth accordingly. If the plants growing next to it are also jewelweed, it grows upright and narrow to share sunlight with it’s ‘cousins’. If the neighbors are not jewelweed, the plant grows short, stocky, and wide to shade out the ‘competitors’. As far as we know, plants don’t have a “brain” – there’s no ”central processor” that guides their behavior. Yet, somehow, many plants act in ways that we would normally associate with “intelligence”. Maybe this is why people talk to their plants? What do you think – do plants have a brain?
This week at New England Grows I visited with many of the nurseries in the exhibit hall to find out what they see as the hot plants for 2010. Of course, many nurseries have their own introductions that they consider to be the “latest and greatest” (and many of their plants are truly spectacular). But, aside from that, there was a lot of consistency in the answers they gave. So here are the predicted top selling plants for the year –
Edibles – Many nurseries ran out of fruit trees and berries last year and they expect the trend to continue in 2010. Despite the horrible summer in many parts of the country last year, consumers seem committed to growing their own fruit and vegetables, especially heirloom plants and organic herbs. Garden centers are selling larger transplants of all kinds, as well as pre-planted containers (e.g., salad mixes, herb gardens).
Succulents – Both hardy and tender succulents are showing up in a wide range of applications, from living walls and green roofs to container gardens, rock gardens, dining table centerpieces, herbaceous borders, and along walkways. New varieties are rapidly being introduced, including some gorgeous, highly structural plants (such as agave) that go well beyond the familiar sedums and echeveria.
Natives – Despite the ongoing debate about what, exactly, constitutes a true “native” plant, consumers are drawn to anything labeled as a native plant.
Bamboo – With the increasing availability of cold-hardy clumping bamboos (such as the Fargesia bamboos), nurseries and garden centers are carrying more varieties of bamboo for use in the home landscape. Homeowners are recognizing the versatility of bamboo and are starting to use it in place of more traditional shrubs and ground covers.
Echinacea – Cone flowers have been all the rage for several years now and continue to enjoy widespread popularity as new cultivars are introduced, particularly red and yellow varieties like ‘Tomato Soup’ and ‘Mac ‘n Cheese’.
Heuchera – Another favorite over the past few years, coral bells are available in a wide range of colors, including traffic-stopping, multicolored plants like the new introduction ‘Electra’. Heuchera with villosa parentage (Heuchera villosa is our native species) are particularly popular due to their hardiness, many blooms, and ability to withstand hot weather without the typical summer “melt-down”.
